Afghan woman’s Olympic dream in doubt

CHINA: The female Afghan boxer who has drawn wide attention for her bid to reach the London Olympics could be denied because of fears over her safety inside the ring.

Flyweight Sadaf Rahimi, 18, suffered a setback at last week’s women’s world championships in China, where her bout against Poland’s world number six Sandra Drabik was stopped after just 1min 26sec.

Rahimi is relying on a wildcard from organisers to reach London, but officials said safety was paramount as they decide which fighters will take part when women’s boxing becomes an Olympic event for the first time.

“Safety is the number one concern in women’s boxing and we will make this clear to the IOC (International Olympic Committee) Tripartite Commission when we meet in early July to decide who shall benefit from the wildcards,” said International Boxing Association (AIBA) president Wu Chingkuo.

Rahimi has been seen as an automatic choice for a wildcard after media seized upon her quest to represent Afghanistan, where women’s sport was banned under the Taliban regime which was toppled in late 2001.

But she now faces an anxious wait after the gulf in standards between her war-torn nation and the boxing heartlands of the Americas, Europe and Asia was exposed at China’s Qinhuangdao. “My bout here was hard and my opponent very good. Of course it is my dream to go to the Olympics and fight for my country but I will wait and see what the organizers decide,” Rahimi told AFP.

“I will be sad if I don’t go but just coming here has been a great experience.” Sadaf, who has been on a training stint in Britain, was cheered by a small crowd of hijab-wearing women in Qinhuangdao. Her compatriots Sumaiya Azizi, 18, and Shamila Husainzada, 17, also had their fights stopped in the first round. AFP